Holder for drinking cups



June 10, 1930 F. P. SWALLOW 1,762,490

HOLDER FOR DRINKING CUPS Filed April 6, 1927 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA mm @777?? z iFrzczls Z 5 @110 Patented June 10, 1930 UNETED STATES Parana OFFICE FRANCIS I. SWAT-LOW, F VTORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES ENVELOPE COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE Application filed April 5, 1927.

The present invention relates to a holder for drinking cups, and more particularly resides in a device of this character so constructed as to be supported readily and conveniently by drinking-water supply-apparatus of a well known type, namely a large water bottle inverted over an ice container, so as to chill the water drawn from said bottle.

The holder or fixture of the present invention consists of a plurality of resilient arms adapted to engage the bottom and sides of the inverted water bottle, said arms supporting a casing adapted to hold a supply or carton of stacked paper drinking cups in convenient position for withdrawal one by one, by users of the water supply apparatus, all as more fully set forth hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the invention applied to an inverted water bottle.

Fig. 2 is a side View, partly in section, of the fixture, showing the resilient arms in collapsed or folded relation.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the invention.

Fig. 4: is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of the construction.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring first to Fig. 1, there is indicated drinking-water supply-apparatus of a well known type, consisting of a suitably supported ice container 1, having inverted thereon a large water bottle 2,-the arrangement 35 being such that the water from said bottle, as

drawn ofi by a spigot 3, is chilled to an appropriate temperature.

The holder or fixture of the present invention provides, as shown,asuitable rectangular container or casing 4, adapted to hold a stack of flat paper drinking cups in such position as to enable said cups to be seized and withdrawn, one by one, from the bottom of said stack. To this end, the casing 4 is open at the top for the reception therein of a suitable cardboard carton 5 in which the cups may be conveniently packed, said carton substantially filling the casing 4 when introduced therein, and resting at its bottom against a transverse bar 6 extendingv between opposite HOLDER FOR DRINKING CUPS Serial No. 181,441.

sides of said casing. The carton 5 has its front and bottom walls cut away as shown at 7 and 8 to facilitateseizure and withdrawal of a cup, there being also for this purpose a cutaway portion 9 in the front wall of easing 1, corresponding to the cutaway portion 7 of the pasteboard carton.

According to the invention, the casing 4, containing the supply of cups, is adapted to be supported on the inverted bottle 2 of the drinking-water supply-apparatus in the following manner :An arm 10, preferably of flat spring steel, has its upper surface welded or otherwise secured to a central downwardly extending portion 11 of bar (5,,so that said arm 10 is flush with the lower edge of easing 1-. Said arm 16 extends rearwardly from bar 6 beyond the back wall of easing 4: and is secured to said back wall in any suitable manner, as by a right-angled bracket 12, welded or otherwise secured to said arm and to said back wall.

A pivot pin 13 passes through the rear portion of arm 10 and the corresponding flat portion of bracket 12; this pin 13 serves for the pivotal attachment to arm 10 of a pair of similar arms 14 and 15, preferably spaced apart from each other and from the arm 10 on the pin 13 by suitable washers 16, 16. Each of the arms 1% and 15 is slightly shorter than the arm 10, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Each of the three arms 10, 1d and 15, at its outer end, farthest from the pivot pin 13, is bent downwardly, substantially at right angles, to form an upright leg portion 17. At

the lower end of each leg portion 17, the material of each arm is bent outwardly, substantially at right angles, to form a horizontal shoulder portion 18, and then by a gradual downward curve, indicated at 19, the material of each arm is bent downwardly and inwardly for a considerable length, as indicated at 20, finally terminating at the end in an outwardly sweeping curved portion 21.

Thus the three arms 10, lt and 15, when arranged about the pivot 13 equidistant from each other, substantially 120 apart, are adapted to have their downward extensions 20 sprung over the cylindrical surface of the inverted water bottle 2, as shown in Fig. 1, the portions 21 serving to guide the portions 20 onto said cylindrical bottle surface, and the portions 20, by reason of their inward slope and the resilience of the material, pressing closely and firmly against said surface to hold the fixture in place. When the fixture is in place, the shoulder portions 18, 180i the three arms rest against the bottom of the 10 inverted bottle 2, in consequence of which the legs 17, 17 rising from said shoulders, serve to space the casing 4 above the bottle a suiticient distance to enable the cups to be withdrawn without difficulty from said casing. By reason of the arm 14: being slightly shorter than arm 10, and the arm 15 slightly shorter than arm 14, measured in each case from the pivot pin 13 to the leg portion 17, the three arms will readily nest one within the other, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby materially condensing the space required for packing and shipping of thesefixtures.

I claim: 1. A device for supporting a drinking cup container on an inverted water bottle, comprising an arm to which said container is adapted to be secured, two other arms pivotally connected to said container arm and adapted to radiate laterally therewith from a common center, all three of said arms at their free ends providing downward extensions toengage'the sides of the bottle, and inwardly of said downward extensions providing shoulders to rest against the bottle bottom, with spacers rising from said sl1oul ders to offset the laterally radiating arm. portions from the bottle bottom, whereby the cup container is spaced above said bottle bottom.

2. A device for supporting a drinking cup 40 container on an inverted water bottle, comprising an arm having a lateral portion to which said container is adapted to be secured, two other arms having lateral portions adapted to radiate from a common center with the lateral portion of said container arm, there being a pivoted stud atsaid common center to connect said lateral portions one above the other with the container arm uppermost, all three of said arms at their free ends having downward extensions to engage the sides of the bottle, and providing, inwardly of said downward extensions, shoulder portions to rest on the bottle bottom, said shoulder portions being connected with said lateral portions by substantially vertical spacers, thereby to support the container in spaced relation to the bottom of the bottle.

Dated March 31, 1927.

FRANCIS P. SWALLOW. 

